Dog barking at vets

It's that time of year again where my dog is due his booster. He hates the vets and barks non stop when we get there. My husband usually ends up standing outside with him until we're called in. Not sure if it's the vet's itself he doesn't like or just because there's other dogs there. Anyone any suggestions/tips on how to help your dog not get stressed in these situations? I had thought about a muzzle but seems unfair when he isn't aggressive!

Can you pinpoint what he dislikes? Is it the actual injunction or the vet visit? It's certainly stressful for them. Some suggestions (you could try any, or all of them) include -

Too late for this year but you could call into the vet regularly for no treatment, just a fuss. You would have to build it gradually though - a paw in the door gets praise and reward, a step inside etc.

If it's the examination, see if you can buy or borrow things like stethoscope and gradually again get him used to them.

If it's the treatment room, your vet might agree to see him in the waiting room.

If it's the injection, squeezy cheese in a tube is a wonderful distraction - deliver just enough to keep him licking while the vet does the business. Some dogs do better with the injection in the thigh rather than behind the neck.

Keeping him outside until his appointment is fine though if it helps and actually a muzzle isn't a bad thing if it keeps everyone safe. You can train him to accept the muzzle (look on YouTube for kikopup) and again, squeezy cheese helps a lot.

It's hard to pinpoint what it is. I used to think it was the other animals that he didn't like but we recently got a female puppy and he's fine around her, happily plays with her and appears very relaxed. I don't know if it's because the puppy is female so he feels no threat from her or because she's smaller than him. It could be that he just needs socialised with more dogs. I just know that he doesn't enjoy the visits to the vets and it makes it stressful for him and us! The injection itself he's fine with, I think he gets so worked up over the whole situation he doesn't even realise it's happening.

I'll have to try giving him treats in the vets to see if that helps, might also look into a muzzle to see if it could be a good option as well. Thanks for the tips!

My dog is the same in the waiting room if there are other animals there, I dread it so much. She just barks and barks whenever she sees another dog or cat in a carrier, I get so embarrassed and just wait outside. The last couple of times I took little cubes of cheese with me to bribe her while we wait which worked well but that could have been because it was very quiet in there lately. She’s fine with dogs she’s familiar with though, so maybe it’s just seeing dogs that he doesn’t know?

laura301091 said:

got a female puppy and he's fine around her,

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Remember there is a huge difference between a dog he knows, in your home; and a lot of strange, stressed animals in a strange place who may also smell 'off' because of being ill. And socialisation - first it's about quality, not quantity and second it needs to be done in the puppy's first 16 weeks, after which the socialisation period ends. After that you could work on getting him accustomed to other dogs but if he isn't particularly gregarious there really is no need - it would be like encouraging a shy person to hug every stranger in the street. It's not natural for us, as humans, and it's not natural for dogs. Being dog neutral is actually a far more natural behaviour.